Be Wary Of The Fashionable Outcry

 

Published earlier on Network Norfolk - sharing here too:

Here is a brilliant passage from C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters that speaks as much about today as when it was written:
 
“We direct the fashionable outcry of each generation against those vices of which it is least in danger and fix its approval on the virtue nearest to that vice which we are trying to make endemic. The game is to have them running about with fire extinguishers whenever there is a flood, and all crowding to that side of the boat which is already nearly gunwale under. Thus we make it fashionable to expose the dangers of enthusiasm at the very moment when they are all really becoming worldly and lukewarm; a century later, when we are really making them all Byronic and drunk with emotion, the fashionable outcry is directed against the dangers of the mere “understanding”. Cruel ages are put on their guard against Sentimentality, feckless and idle ones against Respectability, lecherous ones against Puritanism; and whenever all men are really hastening to be slaves or tyrants we make Liberalism the prime bogey."  C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
 
Today’s misdirected cultural trends are classic cases of directing the fashionable outcry of each generation against those vices of which it is least in danger, especially compared to salvation matters. Society is awash with top-down manipulations – from the mainstream media, social media, political parties and large-scale institutions - showing how priorities can be manipulated away from seeking Christ and desiring a relationship with Him. 
 
The psychological trickery is all well-established in the literature – and it’s a heady mix of accidental or inadvertent spillover effects and deliberately orchestrated manipulation. Instead of addressing the biggest concerns facing a generation, people are made to obsess over less relevant or even comparably harmless issues (in the long run). For example, a society that's grown indifferent and apathetic is warned against being too passionate or enthusiastic; a culture spiralling into moral recklessness is warned against being too rigid or judgmental, that sort of thing. This is why, in encouraging the junior devil to “fix its approval on the virtue nearest to that vice which we are trying to make endemic”, Lewis points out the danger of confusing virtue with vice’s adjacent.
 
There are plenty of these psychological tricks designed to get people to defend a value that masks a growing problem. Like how tolerance and inclusivity are being used not to protect genuine diversity, but to silence moral conviction; like how authenticity and self-expression are widely championed as virtues, but are often tools for justifying self-indulgence, pride, or a refusal to take responsibility; like how community is used as a synonym for exclusive tribalism; and like how scientific and technological progress often masks prideful secularism.
 
Lewis exposes this whipsawing effect brilliantly, "Thus we make it fashionable to expose the dangers of enthusiasm at the very moment when they are all really becoming worldly and lukewarm." Each generation’s moral panic is inversely related to its real failing; when people are emotionally cold, they’re warned about being too emotional; when people are selfish and hedonistic, they’re warned about being too strict or puritanical; when people are drifting toward tyranny, freedom and liberty are painted as dangerous, that sort of thing. This creates a fairground mirror image of reality, where society chases the wrong demons and ignores the spiritual antidotes, as the rot sets in.
 
I believe all this is a subtle form of spiritual warfare and psychological manipulation employed by the enemy and his influencers - channelling the energy of conscience away from truth and toward distraction. Because in many cases, and especially in places where God is not at the top of the hierarchy of priorities, I believe the greatest danger is not the vices many are obsessing over - it's the ones being ignored.
 
I’m glad to hear there may be a Christian revival on the way, because in many places in today's UK culture, instead of confronting the deep spiritual need for Christ and the call to live out genuine Christian responsibility, many are consumed by lesser political, social and ideological concerns that, while not inherently wrong and are certainly worthwhile, become idols when they displace the centrality of the gospel.
 
It must be Christ at the top, then pray He’ll equip us to help solve problems in the world. By fixating on issues that feel urgent but are ultimately peripheral, people neglect their deepest need – relationship or reconciliation with God and the daily obedience that flows from that relationship.
 
Just as C.S. Lewis warned, society runs about with fire extinguishers during a flood, passionately opposing dangers they’re not actually at risk of, while ignoring the real and present threat of spiritual apathy and worldliness. This misdirection keeps hearts far from Christ, all under the illusion of moral seriousness and societal progress – and this generation should be on guard against this spiritual deception and psychological cheat. Even the best virtues must be protected against this idolatry, for as de Rougemont warns us, “Love ceases to be a demon only when he ceases to be a god.”